“How likely are we to sneak upstairs?” I whispered.
“In the kitchen.”
Shoot. “Darn.” That got me a giggle, even though it was small.
It was progress. A tiny bit.
Although Zee had warmed up to me pretty quickly, he wasn’t the most talkative. He went to therapy more than I did these days. Speaking of which...
“Is Mom taking you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” He sighed like it was a huge weight on his shoulders.
For an almost seven-year-old, he sure held a lot of trauma on his shoulders. I knew I wasn’t the only one that wanted to take it all away. I’d have gladly done so in a second.
“The church one isn’t that bad, though.” I actually did enjoy hanging out there once in a while. A bit too many people, but it was easier to blend in and not have to talk.
Zee shot me a look I knew way too well. I couldn’t help but bark out a laugh.
“Yeah, well kids being grounded is horrible. I know.” Not really, but Zee understood what I didn’t say. He simply huffed with a shake of his head. “You know what? I’ll make ya a deal.”
Zee looked up at me as I stepped back just enough so I could bend down and be at his eye level.
‘Do something out of the ordinary this month,’ my therapist's words echoed in my head. As long as they didn’t bite me back in the butt, we’d be good.
Zee’s brown eyes, which were oddly so close to my own, looked up at me with hope and wonder.
“I’ll go with you and Mom tomorrow if you talk to Emily.” She was the safest out of the group of three.
Zee thought for a moment, before nodding his head. Talking to anyone outside his comfort zone was one of the harder things. Little pushes here and there were slowly getting him there.
“Deal.” He nodded to himself like that was going to be an easy task. If he put his mind to it, it would be.
I shot him a smile, knowing I’d go anyway.
It was about time I figured out what the hell to do with my life since I had one.
A moment later, Zee’s small hand was pulling me into the house. The back door slammed just a bit too hard, and I grimaced, not catching it in time.
All the adults stopped talking, looking at us as we entered. My cheeks heated as Zee still held my hand, dragging me towards Emily.
“Hi. Bye.” With that, Zee let go of my hand and the patter of his feet echoed as he ran up the steps.
“Hello, kiddo.” Collin greeted. “That was...new.”
Since everyone was looking at me, I stepped back a bit. “Uh...I made him a deal.” Turning towards Scarlett, who seemed to already know, “I’ll go tomorrow.”
“We leave at eight.”
“Of course, it’s the day you have to be there early to set up,” I muttered, no heat behind the words.
“Unless you want to go in with Dominic...”
“Uh....I’ll....go with you.”
Being in a car with another man was not something I enjoyed. I knew Dominic wouldn’t ever do anything to be, but that fear, that nagging voice at the back of my mind, said otherwise. Allister or Collin were the only two men I could be in a car with. And Dakota didn’t count. He didn’t drive.
As everyone turned back to whatever they were talking about, Collin stepped up beside me. “Can I have a moment? Alone?”
